So..Skylanders... be patient with me .

[wizzler]

Am considering getting DC Skylander for the Wii for Christmas.... Am a total luddite so need advice :-
a) do I need anything other than the starter pack and a couple of extra figures
b) do the Giants figures work on the standard and vice versa
c) Any advice on which to buy would be gratefully received

Lord this makes me feel old

Glad someone else is baffled by the whole thing!! Both DS's have been going on about this. I went into Game where they had it hooked up and the very helpful girl in the shop talked me through what it was, how it worked etc.

If you get the starter set, you have everything you need to get started. There are three elements which are represented by different characters and you need certain characters to unlock differs parts of the game...

The girl in the shop said that if we were thinking of changing our Wii in the next year or so, we might want to look at getting a different platform as the software updates for the old Wii won't be that great as they are bringing out a new Wii (didn't really understand this tbh but we were thinking of getting an Xbox anyway).

At least I now know what to suggest when people ask what the boys want for Christmas...

A) no but be prepared for dc who finish the game quickly with oe set of characters and need more!
B) not sure what you mean here, but the giants only work on the skylanders giants game not on spyros adventure (the first game)
C) just pick whichever you like! My dc have both games and I have only been able to buy what I can get (they go out of stock quickly) and they have been more than happy with that. You may want to consider getting a character from each element though otherwise you can't get to all parts of the game

HTH!

My ds is a massive skylanders fan and we have the original and the giants so hopefully i can help you! If you do not have the original set called "spyro's adventure" you will need to buy the "giants" starter pack. This will include the game disc, portal (the thingy you put them on to make them appear on the tv), one giant and two smaller skylanders. You can then buy the other figures as you wish. They also sell adventure packs that include a skylander, a figure that represents another world and a figure that represents a special talent or strength (little potion bottle or similar). These are just add ons and are not requred to play the game. The figures from the first set called spyros adventure are compatible with the new game and portal. The figures from the second set called skylander giants do not work on the old game and portal (this includes the standard size figures that have been brought out for the new set, not just the giant size ones) . With the release of giants, they have also re-released some of the original figures as "light-core". They are exactly the same but when they are placed on the portal various bits of them light up. Also, certain shops have "legendary" figures. These are also just exactly the same as the normal, they are just painted a slightly different colour. They have no additional powers or strengths. However, judging by my ds he def prefers the legendary and tells everyone how they are rare etc. the cheapest i have seen is Tesco but only by 50p or so. Think they must be price-fixed for xmas. If you want the legendaries, toys r us do legendary bouncer and a legendary triple pack of smaller skylanders and Tesco do a different Basher called Granite Basher. If you want a specific character, Ebay is obviously the best place but you will probably pay more for it this side of xmas. Good luck!!!

Thanks everyone... have taken the plunge and bought the Giants starter pack... DS will be so excited as for some reason he doesnt think that Skylanders work on the WII.... I can also line up GPs to buy him the figures.

Sorry, just want to add, some of the skylander giants can be used on old game, it tells you on the side of the charachter box. We have needed terrafin for ages, was on Game today and the guy told us we could buy the "giants" terrafin, and it would work just the same as the old one. This is good and actually quite necessary, otherwise you would need 2 sets of figures, so 2 whamshells, 2 terrafins etc, just to play both games.

some info here about compatibility

My dss desperately want ths. We only ave an ancient wii. Do we go ahead and get it for the ancient wii, as we ad been planning to, or it this going o be onsolete in a few months (bb post raised this)? Anyone know?